Norway maple

Acer platanoides
Norway maple
Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons
Norway maple
Photo: Johann Jaritz, CC BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons
Norway maple
Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons

About

Common maple, or Norway maple, is a slender tree 20–30 m tall with a dense rounded crown. The bark is gray-brown, with small longitudinal cracks, and does not peel. The leaves are large, with five to seven lobes, each ending in a long thin point. When the petiole is broken, a white milky sap oozes out.

The maple blooms in April, before or alongside the appearance of leaves. The yellow-green fragrant flowers are gathered in upright umbels, and at this time the tree looks like a yellowish cloud from a distance. It is one of the first spring nectar sources. The fruits are samaras, whose wings spread almost in a straight line. They ripen in September and spin away from the tree.

In the Carpathians, the common maple grows as a component in oak-hornbeam and beech forests of the foothills and lower mountain belt, in ravines and on rocky slopes. It is often planted in villages, parks, and along roads. In autumn, the leaves turn lemon-yellow, orange, sometimes with a red tint.

In the mountains, its relative, the sycamore maple, is more common. It is easy to distinguish them. The lobes of the sycamore's leaf are blunt with a serrated edge, there is no milky sap, the flowers are gathered in long drooping racemes and appear after the leaves, the wings of the fruits spread at a sharp angle, and the bark of old trees peels off in plates. The sycamore grows much higher in the mountains.

Where in the Carpathians

approximate rangerecords:fewermore4 621 records in the Carpathians

Teal — the species' natural range within its elevation belt; orange — where naturalists recorded it (GBIF, CC0/CC BY).

Range: Caudullo, Welk & San-Miguel-Ayanz 2017, CC BY 4.0; elevation belt and forests — our model (AWS Terrain Tiles; © OpenStreetMap)

Countries
Ukraine · Slovakia · Czechia · Poland · Hungary · Romania · Austria
Mountain ranges
nearly all Carpathian ranges, in the forest belt
Altitude belts
Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowering

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

FAQ

How to distinguish common maple from sycamore?

In common maple, the lobes of the leaf have long sharp points, and a white sap flows from a broken petiole. In sycamore, the lobes are blunt and serrated, there is no sap, and the flowers are in drooping racemes.

When does the maple bloom?

In April, before the leaves unfold or alongside them — with yellow-green umbels.

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Similar species

Sycamore mapleSycamore mapleAcer pseudoplatanusSycamore maple, celebrated in songs. In the Carpathians, it grows in beech forests and mixed forests, often rising higher than beech in the mountains.
European ashEuropean ashFraxinus excelsiorA tall tree with a lacy crown and black buds. It grows in the deciduous forests and valleys of the Carpathians; in Europe, it is threatened by a fungal disease.
Common hornbeamCommon hornbeamCarpinus betulusA tree with a ribbed silvery-gray trunk. In the Carpathians, it grows in the foothills and lower parts of the mountains alongside beech and oak.

Where to meet it

Mountain ranges: In other countries: 🇸🇰 Slovak Ore Mountains, 🇸🇰 Strážov Mountains, 🇸🇰 Štiavnica Mountains, 🇸🇰 Greater Fatra, 🇸🇰 Považský Inovec, 🇨🇿 Moravian-Silesian Beskids, 🇸🇰 Low Tatras, 🇸🇰 Volovec Mountains, 🇸🇰 Slovak Central Mountains, 🇸🇰 Little Carpathians, 🇨🇿 White Carpathians, 🇸🇰 Lesser Fatra, 🇭🇺 Zemplén Mountains, 🇸🇰 Vihorlat Mountains

Trails and peaks near which naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, iNaturalist), matched by altitude and habitat. Sightings are not guaranteed.

Sources

GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Distribution data: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY records), iNaturalist; names and identifiers: Wikidata (CC0). Text: Karpaty.rocks, checked 11.11.2026.